Trump has taken to Twitter to slam his former White House aide’s claim that she heard him using a racist slur on a tape from his time on the NBC reality show The Apprentice. Manigault Newman, who is promoting her new book, Unhinged, also accused Trump of “absolutely” being a liar during her Today appearance Monday morning.

Wacky Omarosa, who got fired 3 times on the Apprentice, now got fired for the last time. She never made it, never will. She begged me for a job, tears in her eyes, I said Ok. People in the White House hated her. She was vicious, but not smart. I would rarely see her but heard….

…really bad things. Nasty to people & would constantly miss meetings & work. When Gen. Kelly came on board he told me she was a loser & nothing but problems. I told him to try working it out, if possible, because she only said GREAT things about me – until she got fired!

Hours later, Trump returned to Twitter to specifically strike down Manigault Newman’s claims that a tape of him using a “terrible and disgusting” racial slur on the set of The Apprentice exists. He cited the show’s producer, Mark Burnett, who also produces Survivor and The Voice.

.@MarkBurnettTV called to say that there are NO TAPES of the Apprentice where I used such a terrible and disgusting word as attributed by Wacky and Deranged Omarosa. I don’t have that word in my vocabulary, and never have. She made it up. Look at her MANY recent quotes saying….

….such wonderful and powerful things about me – a true Champion of Civil Rights – until she got fired. Omarosa had Zero credibility with the Media (they didn’t want interviews) when she worked in the White House. Now that she says bad about me, they will talk to her. Fake News!

Trump’s tweets were immediately mocked by actor Tom Arnold, who has claimed to have the alleged tape. Arnold also said he had statements from former Apprentice staffers supporting reports that Trump used racist slurs, and he claims that Burnett has told him Trump is a “liar.”

The White House has since issued a longer statement, via senior Trump official Lynne Patton, disputing Manigault Newman’s claims. The statement cites former Apprentice producer (and “mutual friend”) Bill Pruitt, who denies that there is a tape — let alone that he played it for Manigault Newman.

“My name is Lynne Patton and I am a senior official in the Trump Administration,” the statement begins.

“White House leadership, both past and present, can confirm that I was the closest confidante & friend to Ms. Manigault-Newman during her tenure at the White House, Transition and Campaign — texting and speaking multiple times per day.

“To that end, Omarosa attempted to contact me just two days ago, but I refused to accept her call.

“Like Ms. Manigault-Newman, I have also known and worked for both the president and his family for over a decade and am confident that they would collectively confirm that I know them far better than she.

“To be clear, at no time did I participate in a conference call with Katrina Pierson advising me, Jason Miller, and Omarosa Manigault-Newman that Frank Luntz had heard President Donald J. Trump use a derogatory racial term — a claim that Luntz himself has also denied.

“What I can confirm is the following:

“On December 12, 2017, at approximately 11:30PM (EST) — a date I now know to be the evening Omarosa was relieved of her official duties by General Kelly — I received a telephone call from her informing me that she had personally heard a second-hand recording of President Trump using the ‘N-word’ in a derogatory fashion.

“She proceeded to tell me the full name of the individual who played this second-hand tape for her, from whom the primary audio tape had originated, as well as the specific context of the president’s usage of this term and to whom the derogatory term was allegedly directed.

“Omarosa also proceeded to inform me that she had officially submitted her resignation to General Kelly and that I should promptly do the same before the audio surfaced.

“The next morning, I immediately notified senior communications officials and a Trump family member of the same, only to discover the true nature of her departure was termination.

“Today, the individual who Omarosa confirmed to me as having played the second-hand audio recording to her last year confirmed that they have no tape, never had possession of a tape, never claimed to have possession of a tape, and never played such a tape for Ms. Manigault-Newman.

“Tonight, on the MSNBC program Hardball, Omarosa revealed to the general public what she had told me last December: That former Apprentice producer, Bill Pruitt, was the original source of the ‘N-word’ tape.

“Bill Pruitt is a mutual friend.

“I just spoke to Bill Pruitt tonight before releasing this statement.

“He confirmed to me (before Hardball had even gone off the air) that he does NOT have an audio tape of President Trump using the ‘N-word’ and has NEVER had an audio tape of President Trump using the ‘N-word.’ Period.

“Suffice it to say that the past few weeks have been wrought with disappointment, immense sadness, anger, and outright disgust.

“Based upon her conflicting accounts and the newfound information revealed in my statement, it should be abundantly clear to everyone that not only is her book a complete work of fiction, but that the existence of this elusive ‘N-word’ tape is a figment of her imagination and merely a destructive tool of manipulation applied only when it best serves her interests.

“Like countless other minorities and women, the president has given me the opportunity of a lifetime to rise up through the ranks of The Trump Organization and now proudly serve this country.

“Therefore, unless directed otherwise, this will be my only statement on this baseless accusation and imaginary audio tape, as falsely claimed by a former friend.

“My primary and sole focus remains the low-income and public housing residents of New York and New Jersey, as the president would expect it to be — and as the president has hired me to do.”